


Enough

by orphan_account



Series: Daddy Bats [2]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Coda, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-18
Updated: 2012-07-18
Packaged: 2017-11-10 05:05:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/462492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin may have appreciated the opportunity to test his skills against Batman, but Dick struggles with the idea of fighting Bruce. </p><p>Takes place immediately after "Auld Acqaintance."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Enough

They don't get back until five in the morning, after they've talked exhaustively about new contingency plans and emergency protocols and those 16 hours no one remembers.

"Long night" is an understatement.

Dick immediately goes to bed, leaving Bruce to go to the Batcave and continue working.

Alfred, however, has no intention of letting Bruce stay up any longer than he already has. The two have an intense staring match, but they both know the outcome: Alfred's resolve is not to be outdone.

So Bruce goes to his room and prepares for bed. It's pitch black (darkest before the dawn), but he knows the floor plan so well it doesn't matter.

Well, it doesn't—not up until the moment he slides into bed. There, he's surprised by the foreign form lying there.

The body shifts, and Bruce thinks he can detect just the slightest flash of bright blue eyes.

"Dick," he addresses plainly.

He's unsure. Unsure because this isn't typical for Dick—not since he was young, when his parents had just died and then just after he started being Robin, and then after the first time he was kidnapped and then after he met the Joker for the first time. That was the last instance. Not even after the exercise did  Dick spent the night in Bruce's bed.

That's why this night was such a surprise, why Bruce doesn't know how to react.

"I—I just didn't want to be apart," Dick says softly. "I don't want to look away and then find out you're not—that you're not _you_." His voice falters, hitching with unsteady breathing and restrained emotion.

After that, Bruce remembers the old habits that took him so long to develop (he was never a paternal person—not before Dick). He brushes hair away from Dick's face. "Okay."

That's all he says. He and Dick established a long time ago that too many words only made things more uncomfortable. Everything important goes unspoken, unsaid—but always understood.

_I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough._

That much is mutual.

_It hurt. I know you hate emotions in the field, but - I'm sorry, so sorry, Bruce.  
_

_You shouldn't have to see that, do that—but you did, and I'm proud of you.  
_

It's an apology, but it's as close as Bruce will come.

It's enough. It's _more_ than enough. So when Buce settles into the sheets, Dick doesn't feel the urge to touch his adopted father.

Just seeing his face in the dim light, knowing he was there—that alone lets Dick slip to a dreamless, restful sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Because, as proficient as Dick is, he's only thirteen.


End file.
